Election Day
BAGHDAD—Almost one hour since the polls opened here, I’ve only heard one faint boom, and it was far away. So far, so good, knock on wood.
Desperation or Hope?
BAGHDAD—Tomorrow Iraqis go to the polls and, inshallah, will get a better government that they have right now… Eventually. But for now, Sunday’s vote is taking place at the intersection of optimism and desperation.
Shahwani’s interview — Finally!
A while back, I mentioned that I would post the full al-Sharq interview with General Muhammad Abdullah Shahwani, Iraq’s intelligence chief, from Jan. 4. I got snowed under by election deadlines, but here it is finally.
200,000 in the insurgency?
There’s been a lot of talk about the number of people in the resistance, with the head of the Iraqi Intelligence Services, the new mukabarat, being quoted as putting the number at 200,000 — more than the number of U.S. troops in country. He’s been widely misinterpreted.
Passing the electoral buck; Mosul next?
Things are certainly confusing here regarding the timing of the elections. The Allawi government is divided over the elections. The U.N. has said the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq has the authority to make the decision to change the election date. And the Iraqi government wants to pass the buck onto the U.N.
And the game of electoral hot potato continues.